Pucker Up: Black as Knight

As I expected, applying MAC’s Black Knight lipstick does yield better results when used with a lip brush than straight outta the tube. (But it’s important to know that distinction–you want to know just how much work you have to put in to get what you want out of a product.) It took me a solid five minutes to layer the color on, and I felt like I had to use a fair amount of product. I mean, honestly, not particularly dismaying as this isn’t a shade I’ll be reaching for constantly, so I don’t run a high risk of using it up in the next week.

Black Knight will eventually layer and look opaque enough to satisfy most. I do want to note that in my bathroom’s light, unevenness and flaws are very, very minimized. When I stood in the mirror, it looked pretty opaque–even when I shoved my face all up in my mirror’s business. The camera’s flash does accentuate every little flaw!

Black lips are very, very high maintenance. The color bleeds, and it is easy for you to smudge and pull at the color and make it uneven. Just pressing your lips together will create some unevenness, which is a little frustrating! A drier black lipstick would be easier to work with, to be honest. I’d probably recommend MAC’s Black Lip Mix over Black Knight lipstick.

Bottom Line: Apply a thin layer of concealer or foundation (or MAC Lip Erase, which serves the same purpose) to lips. This helps to neutralize your natural lip color and make whatever you’re applying much more pigmented, but it also evens out the surface a little more and adds a dry layer. Black Knight has a lot of natural glossiness to it, which makes it easy for the color to slip and glide, creating that uneven look. Use either a very dark or a clear lip liner all around the edges of the lips to help prevent the intense color from bleeding. Then, apply Black Knight using a lip brush. Layer until satisfied. Be cautious when applying gloss, because the gloss tends to shift the color around in a slip-slide fashion.

MAC Style Black: Lipstick/Mattene Review, Swatches, Lip Swatches

MAC Style Black is a deep, dark collection with the rich tones of black as inspiration. Included in the launch that’ll hit stores on the 24th are two mattenes, Midnight Media and Night Violet, as well as one lipstick in Black Knight.

Mattenes

Midnight Media is a near-black, creamy semi-matte lip color that goes on semi-opaque. It’s a red-toned or burgundy-toned black. It appears mostly black on lips, but there’s a bit of a burgundy punch that keeps it from going monotone. I don’t recommend applying this without a lip brush — it is not forgiving! (My lip swatch is evidence of thus.)

Night Violet is a burgundy-wine shade with a creamy, semi-matte finish and goes on mostly opaque. It doesn’t bleed nearly as much as Midnight Media and is much more forgiving when you apply it directly from the tube.

Lipstick

Black Knight is a slightly creamy, monotone black with a glossy sheen. It’s a cremesheen finish, which can be drying at times, but this one didn’t feel that way to me. I had a terrible time getting this to apply even remotely evenly. Up close (as in the lip swatch), every flaw is enhanced. I assure you it looked relatively even in the mirror. I’d probably pass on this and just use Bat CCB on my lips (but I gotta double-check the safety on that).

Out of the three, Night Violet is the most wearable, and then Midnight Media is more wearable than Black Knight, because it has that reddish tone to it. I don’t personally love any of the three, but I do like Night Violet enough to own. If you don’t have any black lipstick, Midnight Media isn’t a bad way to go.

Product: 7/10

Value: 8/10

Ease of Use: 7/10

Packaging: 8/10

Recommendation: If you love yourself dark and vampy lip color… this is for you!

Availability: MAC Cosmetics

See more photos, swatches, and lip swatches…

MAC Night Violet Mattene

MAC Black Knight Lipstick

Midnight Media, Night Violet, Black Knight

MAC Midnight Media Mattene

MAC Night Violet Mattene

MAC Black Knight Lipstick

MAC Style Black is a deep, dark collection with the rich tones of black as inspiration.

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